Garment-pressing machine



H. E. CHASE. GARMENT PREsslNGMACHlNE.

Y APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4.197. 1,304,853. I Patented May 27, 1919.

/l/ l ////l//l//ll///////////l//////l////lllll1 UNITED sTATEs 4PATENT oFFicE HERSCHEL E. CHASE, 0F SYRACUSE, NEW YORK,l ASSIGNOR T0 UNITED STATES HOFFMAN MACHINERY COMPANY, OIE" SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, yA CORPORATION 0F DELAWARE.

GARMENT-PRESSING- MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Application led September 4, 1917. Serial No. 189,546.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, HERSCHEL E. CHASE, a citizen of theUnited States of America, and resident of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga and State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Garment-Pressing Machines, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to certain improvey ments in .garment pressing machines in which the garment is subjected to moisture,

pressure and heat in one and the same opboth of the pressin eration, the moisture serving to soften the garment and render it more pliable and susceptible to shaping by pressure, such pressure being applied for the purpose of imparting and ixing the desired shape to the garment while the heat facilitates the drying` and setting of the shape thereof.

his moisture is preferably furnished by steam admitted to the garment under pressure through a pervious late, pad or cloth forming the pressing si e of one or bothl of the pressin elements, said steam being in a more or. ess rareied state and is admitted to the garment for an instant only or in short blasts controlled by a valve so as to prevent saturation of said garment.

Immediately following this operation and while the garment is' still in the machine,

the excess steam or moisture is withdrawn by a suction device and conveyed to a soil pipe or to the exterior of the building in order to avoid the presence of such steam in the room where the machine is located.

My invention refers more particularly to the suctionl device forv withdrawin the excess steam from the garment, the o ject being to incorporate such device within one or elements without materially increasing t e size or weight thereof or otherwise interfering with the operation of the machine in the usual manner.

Another object is to brin this suction `device or devices as close to t e garment as device by a steam-driven motor mounted upon and preferably within the area of the corresponding pressing element so that the same steam which supplies the moisture may also be used for operating the motor.

Other objects and uses relating to speciic parts 'of the device will be brought out in the following description.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a transverse vertical sectional View through the pressing elements showing a portion of the rocking support for the upper element or head, and also showing the suction devices and their operating motors.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken in the plane of line 2--2, Fig. 1, showing more particularly one of the motors.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken Patented May 27, 1919. r

in the plane 'of line 3-3, Fig. 1 showing ment space through an opening or openings in the side adjacent the opposed pressing element so that any steam which may be introduced into either chamber may be distributed over and upon the garment.

These chambers also serve to receive separate suction devices, as rotary fans -5-, journaled therein wholly within the area of their respective pressing elements and adapted to be driven by se arate motors -6- of the turbine type w ich are located in ,isolated chambers or housings -7- forming parts of their respective pressing elements --1- and -2-. g

Each suction device or fan -5- is connected coaxially to its operating 4 motor -6- by a shaft -8- which is journaled in a partition -9- dividing the chambers 4 and 7* one from the other, thereby bringing said suction fan and its motor into close relation wholly within the area of its pressing element with the suction fan close to the correspondin perforated plate -tand, therefore, in oise juxta-position to the garment, thereby increasing the efiicienc of said suction device in withdrawing the moisture from the garment after the pressing operation, or inremoving dust from the garment preparatory Ito pressing.

Each chamber 43- may, therefore, be regarded as a combined steam chamber and suction chamber, but in addition each pressing element is provided with a heating chamber -l0-, preferably heated by steam to keep said elements at the proper temperature for accelerating the drying of the garment.

Suitable means is provided for supplying steam to the various chambers consisting, in this instance, of a main supply pipe 11- which may be connected to any available source of supply.

Connected to this supply pipe -11- are two branch pipes -12- and -13 leading,

respectively, to the motor chambers 7- of the pressing elements -1- and -2 for supplying steam thereto to operate the corresponding motors -6-, each branch pipe being provided'with a three-way valve 1/.1 for controlling the iiow of steam to sai'dwmotors, one of the ways of each valve being connected by a pipe -15- to the chamber 3- of the corresponding pressing element to supply steam thereto for moistening the garment from one -side or the other, or both sides, as may be desired, the other two ways of each valve serving to supply steam directly to the corresponding motors for driving the saine.

Each valve is normally closed and is provided with an operating member 1G- within easy reaching distance of the operator so that when moved to one position, it will allow steam to enter the corresponding chamber for moistening the garment, and at the same time prevent the entrance of steam to the motor chamber, but when moved to another position will cut 0H the supply of steam to the chamber -3- and will admit steam to the motor chamber for operating said motor and suction device l5- driven thereby' to withdraw Steam from the garment. l

The .Steam inlets 12- are preferably tangential to the corresponding motors -6 so as to impinge against the wings thereof, each motor chamber being also provided with a tangential exhaust or outlet pipe 17* which may lead to any soil or waste pipe, or to the exterior of the building 1f desired.

The portion of the chamber --3 in which the suction fan 5'- is located is 65 preferably circular and provided with an outlet -18- which may also lead to the soil or waste-pipe, not shown.

The heating chambers-lO- are connected by separate pipes--l9- to the branch pipes l2- and -13-, respectively, at points between the corresponding valves -14 and main feed pipe -11- 'so as to i constantly supply steam to said chambers even though the valves 14 may be closed, said chambers -10- being also provided with drain pipes -20 to remove any water of condensation which may accumulate therein, it being understood that these drain pipes would be provided with normally closed valves, not sliownLto prevent the continuous flow of the steam therefrom.

In operation, assuming that the press head -2- is raised, the garment is rst spread out upon the upper surface of the buck -1- in suitable manner for pressing, after which the press head is forced to its pressing position by any of the well-known mechanisms-commonly employed for this purpose, and not necessary to herein illustrate ory describe, whereupon one of the valves -14f-, as may be desired, may be.

adjusted for an instant by its operating member 1G- to admit a blast of steam into the corresponding chamber 3- from which it is distributed through the perforated plate -4- to the garment for moistening purposes the valve being closed after this introduction of steam to the garment andas soon as the garment has been subjected to the desired amount of pressure and heat by the pressing. elements, the same or the other valve may be again adjusted to admit steam to the corresponding motor chamber -J- for operating the motor -6- and its suction fan -5-, and thereby withdrawing the steam and moisturejrom the garment, the effect of which is to instantly dry and cool the same, the excess steam and moisture being forced through the outlet 18- to the place of discharge, usually away from the machine to the soil pipe or to the exterior of the building so as to avoid the presence of steam in the room in which the machine is located.

115 Either of these suction devices located in What I claim is:

1. The combination with a garment pressing machine having means for supplying moisture to a garment between the pressing elements, of mechanical means-within one of the pressing elements for removing said moisture.

2. The combination with a garment pressing machine having means for supplying steam to a garment between the pressing elements, of steam-actuated means within one of the pressing elements for removing the steam and its moisture of condensation from the garment after the first named steamsupply is shut of.

3. The combination with a garment pressing machine having one of its pressing elements provided with a steam chamber communicating with the space between said elements and means for supplying steam to said chamber for moistening the garment under pressure, of a rotary fan within said chamber for expelling the steam therefrom, and means for operating the fan.

' 4. The combination with a garment press` ing machine having one of its pressing elementsl provided with a steam chamberv communicating with the space between sald 5. In a garment steaming and pressing machine of the character described, a hollow press-head having a perforated pressplate and a rotary fan within said head and adjacent the press-plate.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 31st da of August, 1917.

HER CHEL E. CHASE. In presence of- M. VIOLA HOWLAND, ALICE M. CANNON. 

